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-   -   Kidney problem (http://www.catbanter.com/showthread.php?t=27954)

[email protected] June 7th 05 04:55 PM

Kidney problem
 
Hi,

My cat black kitty recently stopped eating completely. I brought her to
the hospital after 2 days of not eating at all. The vet said she's has
swollen kidneys and extremely low body temperature at 98 degrees
(normal between 100 - 102?), and had to be admitted to the hospital
right away. She was put in ICU and given IV fluids and antibiotics.
We're be trying to get a proper diagnosis since then. She's been in the
hospital for 4 days(out of ICU now), but so far, they don't really know
what's wrong with her kidneys. They have done ultrasound, xrays and
blood work. Her urea nitrogen levels are very high (153) and her
creatinine levels are high(9.6) too. But we know she has no tumors in
her kidneys. She's only 6 or 7 (we don't know for sure cause she was a
stray), she's really too young to experience problems that old cats
would have. We are some what frustrated with our vet hospital because
they haven't really been able to give a definite diagnosis for us. They
tell us we need more testing. Our vet told us it might be cancer, or it
may be toxins that's causing this. To find out, they want to do a
biopsy on the kidneys. I have reservations about this as I've read in
other places where cats have died from this procedure. Also, performing
a biopsy might cause additional kidney damage to my kitty. Any one with
experience in this area? Or what we should do? Is a biopsy really
necessary for a diagnosis? Part of me wants to just keep her on
antibiotics and see how she does in a few weeks because they seem to
have helped in the last few days, but part of me is worried that her
condition will deterioate in the mean time.

We are on Long Island in the New York area. The vet's hospital is
Central Veterinary Associates in Valley Stream. If anyone has
information on their reputation or have gone through something similar
with this hospital, please share. I'm not 100% thrilled with them at
the moment, but am afraid to change because my cat is still very weak.

Thanks,
Kit


Cheryl June 8th 05 02:49 AM

On Tue 07 Jun 2005 11:55:57a, wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav
roups.com):

snip

We are on Long Island in the New York area. The vet's hospital
is Central Veterinary Associates in Valley Stream. If anyone has
information on their reputation or have gone through something
similar with this hospital, please share. I'm not 100% thrilled
with them at the moment, but am afraid to change because my cat
is still very weak.


Kit, I'm so sorry your cat is so sick. The not eating part is
getting urgent. If I were you, I'd find a feline specialist,
because when they start recommending tests, have no idea, etc, it
starts getting scary in a number of ways. The diagnostics are the
worst part to go through, and yes, sometimes it takes a lot of
tests to find the exact problem, both in humans and in animals. A
feline specialist will have more experience with the symptoms of
illness in cats and can probably recommend a diagnostic strategy
that makes more sense for a cat. I wish I could be more help and
purrs and prayers for both (all?) of you.

--
Cheryl

"The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited
breath."
- W.C. Fields

kit wu June 8th 05 03:27 PM

Thanks Cheryl. I've already written the ACVIM for a recommendation on a
feline specialist in my area. We are also going ahead with the biopsy
to find what we can learn. I tried to be very thorough when questioning
the vets where we're having this done. Hopefully everything will work
out. My husband and I are still very concerned about her not eating. I
don't think they're doing a good job in terms of feeding her. I will
likely take her out of the hospital in 2 days (after she recovers from
the biopsy) and force feed her at home, give her subQ and whatever
medication is necessary. That way we can ensure that she's getting
enough calories. Hopefully the biopsy will give us more info. We're
also taking her test results so far to another vet to get a second
opinion. Thanks again for the support!


[email protected] June 8th 05 04:54 PM



wrote:
Hi,

My cat black kitty recently stopped eating completely. I brought her to
the hospital after 2 days of not eating at all. The vet said she's has
swollen kidneys and extremely low body temperature at 98 degrees
(normal between 100 - 102?), and had to be admitted to the hospital
right away. She was put in ICU and given IV fluids and antibiotics.
We're be trying to get a proper diagnosis since then. She's been in the
hospital for 4 days(out of ICU now), but so far, they don't really know
what's wrong with her kidneys. They have done ultrasound, xrays and
blood work. Her urea nitrogen levels are very high (153) and her
creatinine levels are high(9.6) too. But we know she has no tumors in
her kidneys. She's only 6 or 7 (we don't know for sure cause she was a
stray), she's really too young to experience problems that old cats
would have. We are some what frustrated with our vet hospital because
they haven't really been able to give a definite diagnosis for us. They
tell us we need more testing. Our vet told us it might be cancer, or it
may be toxins that's causing this. To find out, they want to do a
biopsy on the kidneys. I have reservations about this as I've read in
other places where cats have died from this procedure. Also, performing
a biopsy might cause additional kidney damage to my kitty. Any one with
experience in this area? Or what we should do? Is a biopsy really
necessary for a diagnosis? Part of me wants to just keep her on
antibiotics and see how she does in a few weeks because they seem to
have helped in the last few days, but part of me is worried that her
condition will deterioate in the mean time.

We are on Long Island in the New York area. The vet's hospital is
Central Veterinary Associates in Valley Stream. If anyone has
information on their reputation or have gone through something similar
with this hospital, please share. I'm not 100% thrilled with them at
the moment, but am afraid to change because my cat is still very weak.

Thanks,
Kit


My cat was diagnosed twice in the past with kidney trouble. The blood
tests showed up kidney failure, but, with a course of antibiotics he
was back to normal within two weeks. The first time this happened he
was only 7, he is now 17. A second vet said that when a cat is ill
with something else, the blood levels can show up as kidney failure,
when it isnt always, and blood tests should be taken after the illness
is over to check. We did not want to put ours through more blood
tests, but this has happened twice. I now have him on renal support
cat food, but not really sure whether he has kidney trouble. Lately, on
the TV, a chap had a birman, like ours who was 18, and said he had been
diagnosed with kidney
failure years ago and is still OK, I am wondering whether this is just
peculiar to their breed or whether it is common, but I would always say
now, before doing anything drastic, a good course of antibiotics, and
see what happens.

Chris


kit wu June 8th 05 07:36 PM

Thanks Chris, this does make me feel a little better. However, we went
and got a second opinion today and the 2nd vet told me the same thing
as the first, basically the situation isn't looking good. We also think
that being in the hospital is really not working out great for her
condition. With another round of blood tests today, her BUN levels are
still over 130, so we're getting pretty worried. She's been getting
antibiotics at the hospital, supposedly. Let's hope she's better soon.
We're going to take her home tomorrow and see how she does over the
weekend at home.


Cheryl June 9th 05 02:02 AM

On Wed 08 Jun 2005 10:27:41a, kit wu wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav
roups.com):

Thanks Cheryl. I've already written the ACVIM for a
recommendation on a feline specialist in my area. We are also
going ahead with the biopsy to find what we can learn. I tried
to be very thorough when questioning the vets where we're having
this done. Hopefully everything will work out. My husband and I
are still very concerned about her not eating. I don't think
they're doing a good job in terms of feeding her. I will likely
take her out of the hospital in 2 days (after she recovers from
the biopsy) and force feed her at home, give her subQ and
whatever medication is necessary. That way we can ensure that
she's getting enough calories. Hopefully the biopsy will give us
more info. We're also taking her test results so far to another
vet to get a second opinion. Thanks again for the support!



Good luck to you and my kitties send purrs for her health.

--
Cheryl

"The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited
breath."
- W.C. Fields


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